Ailing Akhtar doubtful

BRIDGETOWN, MAY 17: If it isn't one thing, it's another with Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Ahktar. Having recovered from a groin injury that...

BRIDGETOWN, MAY 17: If it isn8217;t one thing, it8217;s another with Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Ahktar. Having recovered from a groin injury that limited him to one match on his team8217;s cricket tour of the West Indies, the bowler clocked as the fastest in the modern game is suffering from a fever, a day before the second Test against the West Indies.

But captain Moin Khan would not rule him out of contention. 8220;He is fit again and has been practicing hard before he came down with the fever,8221; Moin said. 8220;Whether he will be available for the Test, it will be up to him. We8217;ll see if he is better tomorrow and how he bowls at practice.8221;

Admitting he was concerned with the indifferent form of opening batsman Wajahatullah Wasti, Moin said he was likely to be replaced by 18-year-old Imran Nazir.

Wasti was out for eight in the rain-ruined, drawn first Test and has had scores of 26, 1, 19 and 5 in the two minor matches. Nazir, an attacking right-hander, has played only one Test but scored Pakistan8217;s only hundred in the preceding One-day Internationals, 105 not out against Zimbabwe in Grenada.

Moin claimed his players were not concerned over media reports from Pakistan alleging that two players 8212; former captain, left-arm fast bowler Wasim Akram and leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed 8212; would be recommended for punishment from a judicial report into match-fixing and bribery.

It was compiled by High Court judge Mohammed Qayyum after a lengthy inquiry that ended last year and is due for release to the International Cricket Council next month.

8220;We have been told by our board not to worry at all and to concentrate on our game,8221; Moin said. 8220;That is what we are doing, Our spirits are high and we are very confident.8221;

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Justice Qayyum indicated in an interview in the London Sunday Times this week that he recommended a life ban for Mushtaq. He said Akram, 8220;would not get off scot-free8221;.

The Pakistanis went down to an embarrassing defeat to the West Indies A team, consisting of young reserves, by 64 runs on Monday in their last match before the Test. But Moin pointed out that the key players, Akram, Mushtaq, first innings century-maker Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdur Razzaq and himself were missing. All would return for the second Test.

8220;Mohammed Wasim got a hundred and that would have lifted his confidence for the Test,8221; Moin said. 8220;Things will be different for the Test.8221;